A Facile Microwave Hydrothermal Synthesis of ZnFe2O4/rGO Nanocomposites for Supercapacitor Electrodes

Abstract

As a typical binary transition metal oxide, ZnFe2O4 has attracted considerable attention for supercapacitor electrodes due to its high theoretical specific capacitance. However, the reported synthesis processes of ZnFe2O4 are complicated and ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles are easily agglomerated, leading to poor cycle life and unfavorable capacity. Herein, a facile microwave hydrothermal process was used to prepare ZnFe2O4/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites in this work. The influence of rGO content on the morphology, structure, and electrochemical performance of ZnFe2O4/rGO nanocomposites was systematically investigated. Due to the uniform distribution of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles on the rGO surface and the high specific surface area and rich pore structures, the as-prepared ZnFe2O4/rGO electrode with 44.3 wt.% rGO content exhibits a high specific capacitance of 628 F g−1 and long cycle life of 89% retention over 2500 cycles at 1 A g−1. This work provides a new process for synthesizing binary transition metal oxide and developing a new strategy for realizing high-performance composites for supercapacitor electrodes.

Recent Advances in Graphene-Based Mesoporous Nanosheets for Supercapacitors

“…As active electrode materials, metal oxides store charge through surface and nearsurface Faraday oxidation/reduction reactions, which can generate a larger pseudocapacitance than double-layer capacitance [100][101][102][103]. On account of their poor conductivity and high volume changes in the charge/discharge process, metal oxides can be combined with the 2D graphene and mesopore structure to fabricate mesoporous metal oxide/graphene to enhance their electrochemical performance.…”

Effect of High-Energy Ball Milling, Capping Agents and Alkalizer on Capacitance of Nanostructured FeOOH Anodes

“…Such methods offer the advantages of simplicity, affordability, speed and good control of particle size and morphology. The enhanced performance characteristics of nanomaterials prepared by wet chemical methods afford significant advantages for supercapacitor applications [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. However, particles prepared by wet chemical methods are prone to agglomeration and particle growth due to Ostwald ripening.…”